Logistics

In January 2004, 2 of us dined at a small, excellent and well located table in the center on the main dining room. The room and views are very nice, and the table distances better than average. Food and wine, were, of course, excellent.
Service was satisfactory, but not where it needs to be for such an establishment. The Wine Steward was lethargic and remote, and the gallery around the main room provides too many opportunities for the staff to engage each other, when they should be paying attention to the customers! The noise/busy-factor tempo in the room is a higer amplitude than it needs to be. Daniel, however, was present, greeting customers, chatting away, and very nice.

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247 out of 466 people found this review helpful.

The food factory....

Not quite what I expect from a haute cuisine restaurant... The service very was very very poor: the room is very crowded; we got a table which made me feel like being in chinatown (close to the kitchen and very close to the next 3 tables...); no one could really help us with the menu and describe the food precisely- then the food was not exceptional: the scallops are better at craft; the tuna tartar is good as it has caviar on the top... (but not very inventive), the black cod is better at Matsuri... only the bass was really interesting...
Haute cuisine should be associated to surprise, excitement, discovery of flavors you never had before. We got none of this when we had dinner there!

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284 out of 585 people found this review helpful.

Prepare to drop tens like ones

Daniel Boulud is an angel...he took us on a tour of hte kitchen, we had nice seats in the best part of the restaurant (te center section rather than the raised periphery), wonderful grande luxe food. And yet...when I left I wished that the portions hadn't been so preciously small and the bill so stratospheric. Daniel is beloved for luxe dining, but the pricing really stretches crdibility at times.

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292 out of 517 people found this review helpful.

Truly special occasion; fancy & costly

This is a place to go to be coddled, attended to and to come away feeling guilty for having over-indulged.
It's fastidious service with waiters waiting to wait, carefully prepared and presented French dishes...nothing simple.
This is special, truly delightful - with little dishes of freebies tossed in between the more expensive three-course meal.
Cannot fault it. Cannot afford it. Few can. Those who do can expect to be recognized and coddled.

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204 out of 442 people found this review helpful.

Sublime

There simply is no better word for Chef Boulud's culinary masterpieces. Flawless service, exquisite food, and Boulud himself frequently ventures out to ensure his guests are well pleased. The crowning delight: a basket of freshly baked madeleines, buttery and still warm from the oven.

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189 out of 408 people found this review helpful.

Do dinner, but skip lunch...

if you plan to go Daniel. I would be hard pressed to find any criticism of the cooking at Daniel. Everything was superb from the amuses-bouches to the petit-fours, but I was uncomfotably full after the meal. The dining room is pleasant and perfect for people watching. The service was a bit facetious at times. Overall a nice experience, just do a little fasting beforehand.

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341 out of 689 people found this review helpful.